I have a very boring hi-fi and I'd like your help to fix it.

The current system is uninvolving, has no discernable bass (not in the room
anyway), lacks insight and utterly fails to excite. It comprises:

Rega Planet (old style) CD player
Alpha 8 amp, with 8P power amp (both old style), which bi-power...
Eltax Symphony speakers.

Speaker cable and interconnects are QED silver. The room it's in now is 3.5
by 3.5 metres, and the speakers are a little off-axis.

I bought most of the system from Oranges and Lemons about five years ago,
only with Kef Q35 speakers, which were OK with jazz and classical -- which I
never listen to. So I got the Eltaxes, which at least had a bit of get up
and go. I spent a couple of days there, thought the set up was great -- and
it just never sounded the same at home.

I mainly listen to two genres: firstly dance music -- principally UK Garage
(Dem2 etc.), jungle (Congo Natty, Soundmurderer, Dillinja etc) and a bit of
house (Basement Jaxx, MAW) -- and reggae: eighties dancehall (Tenor Saw
etc), ragga, bashment, classic dub (Tubby etc).

Sadly, most listening is at fairly low levels. But what I want is an
exciting presentation, fast controlled squidgy bass / lower mid, and
clarity. Bear in mind that authenticity and realism for this sort of music
is different from other, more acoustic music. The most enjoyable sound in
the house right now is either a cheap JVC boombox in the kitchen with both
the "beat" eq setting and the "subbass" button switched in, or some active
Spirit monitors in my studio playing my Mac G5.

A dealer (Sevenoaks Hifi in Sheffield) reckons my best bet is to spend my
£300-£400 budget on some speakers, probably B&W 602 S3s, and then think
about getting a Rotel amp. Their argument is that the speakers will make
most difference to the sound -- no arguments there -- and that the B&Ws are
best suited to the kind of growling, liquid presentation I'm looking for.

But I'd really appreciate a second opinion. Any dance / dub fans out there
who'd like to make suggestions -- and let me know what sort of kit they use?

Thanks

"Paul" wrote in message
...
I have a very boring hi-fi and I'd like your help to fix it.

The current system is uninvolving, has no discernable bass (not in the
room
anyway), lacks insight and utterly fails to excite. It comprises:

snip

A dealer (Sevenoaks Hifi in Sheffield) reckons my best bet is to spend my
£300-£400 budget on some speakers, probably B&W 602 S3s, and then think
about getting a Rotel amp. Their argument is that the speakers will make
most difference to the sound -- no arguments there -- and that the B&Ws
are
best suited to the kind of growling, liquid presentation I'm looking for.


You won't hate the 602s so go for them, but if you really want to get away
from boring hi-fi and want to get 'involved' see eBay auction No. 5722517133
......

Paul wrote:
I have a very boring hi-fi and I'd like your help to fix it.

The current system is uninvolving, has no discernable bass (not in the room
anyway), lacks insight and utterly fails to excite. It comprises:

Rega Planet (old style) CD player
Alpha 8 amp, with 8P power amp (both old style), which bi-power...
Eltax Symphony speakers.

Speaker cable and interconnects are QED silver. The room it's in now is 3.5
by 3.5 metres, and the speakers are a little off-axis.

I bought most of the system from Oranges and Lemons about five years ago,
only with Kef Q35 speakers, which were OK with jazz and classical -- which I
never listen to. So I got the Eltaxes, which at least had a bit of get up
and go. I spent a couple of days there, thought the set up was great -- and
it just never sounded the same at home.

I mainly listen to two genres: firstly dance music -- principally UK Garage
(Dem2 etc.), jungle (Congo Natty, Soundmurderer, Dillinja etc) and a bit of
house (Basement Jaxx, MAW) -- and reggae: eighties dancehall (Tenor Saw
etc), ragga, bashment, classic dub (Tubby etc).

Sadly, most listening is at fairly low levels. But what I want is an
exciting presentation, fast controlled squidgy bass / lower mid, and
clarity. Bear in mind that authenticity and realism for this sort of music
is different from other, more acoustic music. The most enjoyable sound in
the house right now is either a cheap JVC boombox in the kitchen with both
the "beat" eq setting and the "subbass" button switched in, or some active
Spirit monitors in my studio playing my Mac G5.

A dealer (Sevenoaks Hifi in Sheffield) reckons my best bet is to spend my
£300-£400 budget on some speakers, probably B&W 602 S3s, and then think
about getting a Rotel amp. Their argument is that the speakers will make
most difference to the sound -- no arguments there -- and that the B&Ws are
best suited to the kind of growling, liquid presentation I'm looking for.

But I'd really appreciate a second opinion. Any dance / dub fans out there
who'd like to make suggestions -- and let me know what sort of kit they use?

Thanks


I don't listen to much dance but I do listen to reggae/dub often at low
volumes. The thing that made the biggest difference to my litening
pleasure was the addition of a REL Stadium to my Arcam/Mission setup.

Yes, it costs a lot but often available half price on ebay and WELL
worth it.

NB